Tomatoes: the most important things are seedlings, sowing, and growing

Tomatoes are rich in mineral salts, vitamins A, B6, B2, PP, E, iron, glucose, fructose, etc. And how pleasant it is to eat tomatoes picked from your own garden, make summer salads and winter pickles. Growing vegetablesGrowing tomatoes at home is no easy task, and since tomatoes are not easy to handle, we'll tell you in detail how to grow tomato seedlings and when to sow them.

Before planting, the seeds need to be prepared. Select the best seeds by mixing water and salt and soaking the tomato seeds in it. The viable seeds that float are the ones you need, and the sunken ones can be discarded. Soak them for up to 10 minutes (in a 4-5% solution). Then wash and dry them. Next, soak them. Place the seeds in a damp paper towel and cover with something, or keep them from drying out. Keep them like this for at least 10 hours and no more than 20. They should swell and germinate.

Before sowing, prepare the soil: disinfect it with copper sulfate, for example, or chlorine, then moisten it immediately before sowing. Mix the soil with humus, peat, drainage, coconut substrate, and peat tablets 33-36 mm in diameter. Water the soil with fertilizer. It is advisable to sow tomatoes in February-March. Sowing depth is 0.5-1 cm. After sowing, cover with plastic wrap and wait 7-10 days for germination.

The ideal temperature for growing seedlings is 20-25 degrees Celsius. After germination, provide intense light; tomatoes are sun-loving vegetables. The third leaf indicates the time to transplant. Use room-temperature water for watering the seedlings. Overwatering is harmful. The seedlings should then be gradually acclimated to lower temperatures. The resulting seedlings should look like this: a sturdy stem about 30 cm long, with 6-8 leaves, internodes, and a flower cluster.

Continuing the topic about tomatoes (Seedlings, growing, when to sow), it's important to note that it's best to plant tomato seedlings in the sunniest spot, protected from the wind. They're excellent plantings after onions, legumes, and root vegetables. Prepare the beds 7-10 days before transplanting. Row spacing should be approximately 60-70 cm, with each row approximately 60 cm wide and 20 cm deep. To avoid damaging the plant when removing it, rinse off any soil with water. Carefully position the root system vertically in the hole. All leaves should remain on the surface. Cover with soil, leaving no voids. Use settled, warmed water and water; add more soil after settling. Unlike other crops, tomato seedlings are picky about soil conditions. Slightly acidic and neutral conditions are suitable. They absorb all the nutrients from the soil, thereby depleting it.

Tall varieties: one square meter should accommodate no more than 4 bushes. Varieties with limited stem growth: one square meter should accommodate no less than 4 and no more than 6 bushes. Seedlings should be planted after all danger of frost has passed. Late May is an excellent time for this. For fertilization, use mineral fertilizers; they are very well absorbed by tomatoes (magnesium, phosphorus, etc.).

Overwatering is detrimental to everyone.varieties of tomatoes The problem is that the roots don't get enough oxygen. If you're growing tomatoes in a greenhouse, monitor the humidity inside—if the air is too humid, pollination will be difficult.

Remove side shoots and clean the plants, otherwise they will crowd each other, preventing growth in these conditions. Adequate sunlight exposure is directly related to the amount of sugar in the fruit. Tomatoes are sun-loving plants.

Before you go choosing tomato seeds (seedlings, growing, when to sow, and much more, you'll read in this article), to avoid being overwhelmed by the variety of varieties, decide what you want and when. A full description is included with each variety. Knowing your requirements will make it much easier to find what you need. It's important to consider the climate conditions of the location where you'll be growing your tomato seeds.

Tomatoes are a difficult crop to care for, reacting to all levels of soil moisture, fertility, air humidity, and fertilizer levels. They thrive on a happy medium, but if it's not achieved, they immediately react with yellow leaves, rot, malformation, and so on. But that makes the victory all the sweeter. Give it a try, without listening to the scary stories. Afterward, you'll have something to share from your own experience.

In this article, we tried to tell you in as much detail as we could about how to grow tomato seedlings and when to sow them.